Automatic car-coupling.



No. 761,056. PATEN'IED MAY 3l, 1904.

A. J. BEARD.

AUTOMATIC GAR GOUPLING.

AAAAAAAAAAA FILED SEPT. 2. 1903.

No. 761,056. t

A. J. ERARD.

AUTOMATIC GAR. GOUPLING.

, APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

PATENTED MAY 3l, 1904.

@Hennig n i@ n i in attentati May 3 1, i904.

i ANDREW ,r sizioni, or

`Application filed September .Z,

Aoroiiinrie oiisooomiri l: ySPECIFD'SIA'IKPN forming part of Letters Patent No. "76153 Be itknown thnt l, .ANi'iiinw Emmi, i ei tizen o r' the United States, residing at iiiistlnlm,

in the county of Jeli'ersoi'i sind State of Alii- I rbiiiiimlifive invented certain ne y'und useful f Vimproyements in Automatic (hir-(fou plors, oi

" which Athe followinv' is :i iociieiition.

My invention relates to iiiipi'ovi'ziiients iiiautomatic car-couplers of the twin-jow type,

comprising a draw-head and :i hnuelfle pirof ed thereto, which swings in n horizontal plane and engages the knuckle oi :in opposiiigliriio 1903i Sciinliio. 171,628. i'lcineilohi position.y zuid iig. e is :i showing' it iii itsl open l t :ire enlarged detail views ol',tho (-iirved lool;-v

zii' view position. igs. is' :iiid

wiiig' it olE :i l-:iiiiolili .Ti swings wlirii iiioved to f zi loelud position. i

'y 4and is looked in engagement therewith tocouple `the ears. v

1t is the object of my invention to provide :i Coupler with :i siiiiple and duriilile locking' device which will not positively without ile- ,pendence upon ngi'itvity iiioveniont to lochV the knuckle in :i closed position und also to throw it to its open position preparatory to eiieoting v:i coupling'.

Aceording to niy invention 'l recess the draw-head to provide n oliiiiiilier wi n. oui'ved locking-piecemoves freelji;Y :nid liodi l'v without fixed pivot, :ind l :idiipt tliisloeliiiiggpiece to he engaged and iiioved pos tively by the tziihwirig to ii position where it will hiorl; the lntters outward movement und to ei'igzigi'e and niove the tail-wing to its open pos tion iis it is lifted to perinittlie knuckles to iinoouplo..

My invention con'iprises the construction :ind :ti-rangement of pzirts liereiiiiii'tei' loscribed, and more pzirtioulairl,v pointed out iii the claims, reference being' liiid to the ziecoiiipanying' drawings, iii wliioli if Figurel is n top pliiii view of my improved Coupler. Fig, 2 is :i vertical longitudinal seetion through the line if ir of Fig. 3. Fig'. 3 a transverse lioi'i'fzontnl li'iiioitiidiiiiil section Showing' the knucklel locked by the curved piece in its closed position. Fig. t is it siiiiilar View showing' the niniiiier in which the looking device when in its 'open position is engaged h v the tail-wing',while Fig'. 5 illustrates the operation ol' the wedged end of the tail-wing rioting' to reise the looking-piece from its closed position to eil'oet n, coupling-g'. Fig'. (i is :i transverse section through line i5 i' of Fig'. 3, showing' the looking-piece iii its iin which iiis knuckle ."i is pivotfill),Y mounted iii ,inw ".2 liv ii piii i3, :it wliirli point the iiietzil is tliiiglreiieil nud sireiig'tiienoii hw" 2i liriioing'w'oh or ridge il', wlii fli lends rear@ wurd to the rorwiii'd Weill oiV the riirved i-,liiiiiihoi' lo', provided Vior the looking' diviro. 'llio rozar wiill oi" siiid eliziiiilior tornis the liiili'oishoulder l'oi' the heed, the hitter lining pirotiillwY ser-.iii'oil liv pin .2 to the eiid ol t liiii' lt) to pi'ovidi l'oi' it liiiiitod liiterzii swing' or ploy, which will reduce its stiiiiii oii rounding 'ciiivis iiiid will :liso enulile it to couple on enri'es. The ond of the driivhlizir is ont :iwiiv rind reduced to torni two "eiiliii' ings lh. through u'hfisev renters :in oi j l2 is pro 'ded i'oi' :i piii ii); iiirziiis oiI which siiiiilitil \l '-s`iizipod porloiiitixl lugs 1.3, foi'iiiid on the liozid :it its hau-lr, :ire pivoiiiliv soeiii'od to tlu-y diwiwdinr. 'llioriini'o three oi'I those lugs 13, tliooutorol wliioli :ire soiicil iliisli iii tho curved oiit-iiwu'gv portions iiliovo und l flow the lugs l l of the drziw-lizir` und `ilio ii-iiior lug' 13 posses liotwooii thil sziid lugs li iiiidiliezii's zig'iiiiist the eiii'rod iiiiier wzill oi "ihr recess, lt will lie noted tliiii. this iiiiiiiiier ol l'oiiiiiiigi` :ind pivoting' the houd ol' the driiwdiiii' riiiisoA the pzirts to liiivoliill i'oiitiivt iii :ill positions except :it the points 14.y provided to peiiiiit siillioieiit lidei'iil swing' for the lieiad iii'ouiid its pivot. lienzo the power to .vitlisiiind :1 great pii'issuro strziiii ii'iiffi'oii 1d liv triiiisle liig the pressure lii'oiii tlio pin to tliooiirvrd wills und :tliiittiiig' lhiiigos or lugs, und :it the saune time the slivzirii at iin oii the pin is entirely relieved:

'illie oliiiiiilier Si which lends i'oiticzillf; up. wurd troni tho rezar portion of the recess iii the drziw-luiid, luis one oi' its sido walls oon- .rdrowstructed to form a locking-shoulder 15, while its top portion is curved for the purposes herelinafter described. Within this chamberis aA freely-movable locking device 16, which I call the curved piece by reason of the outer contour of its tailpiece 17. This tailpiece, which is preferably thinner and lighter than thelocking head or block 18, is rigidlyvconneeted thereto by a pin 19 passing'through openings in the end of the tailpiece and in the lugs 20 in said block. I mayfmake the' curved piece integral; but its size, and therefore its strength, would be reduced to enable it to be slipped .through the front recess in the drawhead, for the unnecessary enlargement of the recess-opening to enable a curved piece of this size to be inserted would weaken the head.

When a two-part locking device is used, the piece 17 is first inserted into the chamber and then the block 18, and when they have been moved into proper position and slightly lifted the p'in 19, which connects the two parts, will' be inserted lthrough an opening 21 in the rear wall of the chamber, which may be plugged to prevent theentrance of moisture or sand.

' .The block 1s being 0f almost equal width draw-head. When in this position, its bent end should be inserted into theopening 23 in the tailpiece, after which the latter may be lifted or drawn up into the chamber 8 bysaid rod and placed in position to engage the upper end of the block 18 when the latter is inserted into the head. The chamber 8 is'too narrow to permit the angled end of the rod to disengage itself from the locking device.

The rod 22 is bent upwardly near its inner end, so that it will have a substantially straight pull on the curved piece throughout its movements, and an eye 25 in the outer endof said rod is for a connection to an operating rod or chain leading to any convenient point on the car.

I round ofi or bevel the lower front side of the block 18 and also the lower corner disposed toward the front opening to the recess in the head.

'.lhe tai l-wing 4, which curves forward from the knuckle to increase the lat-ters draft strength, is provided with an angled end portion 27 curved over the top and having front and back parallel sides or faces. From the outer end a wedge-shaped flange 28 forms a -rearward' continuation of the curved top of the tail-wing and leads to a point in the same plane with the lower or bottom-side of the tail-wing. The inward swing of end 27 on the -be struck by the rear flat side of the extension 27, as will be best seen in Figs. 2 and 4.

Having thus described the construction and arrangement of the several parts composing my coupler, I will now explain the manner of its operation.

Assuming the several parts of the lock-ingr.

device to have been assembled within the chamber 8 and the curved piece in its open position, as seen 'in Fig. '7, if now the knuckle be inthe position shown in Fig. 1 and an-incoming head engage it inthe act of 'coupling it will be swung within the Arecess and the rear wall of 27 will strike the end of tailpiece 17, Fig. 4. This will force vthe rounded side of the said piece against the curved walls of the chamber 8 with the result that the curved piece will move bodily in thedire'ction of a curve, and the block 18 will be forced down'- wardly between the front wall of 27 and shoulder 15 of the head, securely locking the knucklein its closed position, Figs. 3 and 5. When it is desired to uncouple, the rod 22 is drawn outwardly, and as it raises the curved piece..

the latter will move bodily until the block is above the end 27 and, actingwith the side wall of the chamber 8 as affulcrum, will cause the IOO tailpiece to engage 27,. Fig. 4, and force the tail-wing outwardly to open the knuckle. If

now the curved piece shall have fallen or been moved toits closed position after the knuckle has been opened as the tail-Wing-swings inwardly in coupling, the wedge 28 will slip under the lower cut-away corner of the block, Fig. 5, and since the curved piece is freely movable within the chamber 8 without fixed pivot or any rigid connection it will readily be lifted upf wardlyandwill ride over thecurved top of the end 27 and drop behind the same toy lock the knuckle. The engagement of end 27 within recess 29 prevents the possibility of breaking the tailpiece 17 of the locking device by jamming it against the side of -the head; but it engages the tail-wing and throws it suiiiciently to force the curved piece by a positive action into a position when its block will lock the tail-wing. I thus avoid any gravity or other uncertain IIO action for my locking device, which is positive in its every movement and is yet freely movable within its chamber. It has no fixed pivot, which is a point of great weakness in similar couplers, and will move to lock the knuckle whatever' position it may be in or to ,locking dci/icc in said cliliiiilini' lisli'i onen the snm@ in the simplest and m05 l uz illiczidlilccks tl= z mitwii' sii'iiigzol' sind al'ilc iiiannei', lt cnniotlic broken, 150il i i 4 in a locking' positioiitlicrecess :1.9 vii-cnc Smc li' out of Xli-c iisiili (il tlic isili-ning' :nifl l'iii'cc and the shoulder l5 on the other; iclici'ci its ilpiccc by ii rever :sliiling action L0 til-ely of draft simili or pressiue in eilic eng a and `liiow Siiiflamfwing oiilwiiiilly Lc Faction, and when in zin opcn pcsiuicn it open the knuckle.

jump freely away from any blow Gf -lic' l ccrrl ,i comprising :i icccSSc-d draw- Wing. f lien@n a loosc locking dem tlici'cn liliviiig n, The details of construction maj; be viii'iGd lcc curved guidc iinitilin ivliicli without departing from tlie gist ci' my invention, wliicli consists principally in .an forming lille locking' dei/icc than ilJ zich; iiosli'icl; l'iu Without lixed pivot and can bc a; opeisitcd by clic tail-wing l to clcsad posiiion behind iig. l liucy Eliclccki ing-chamber muy bc formed as a, liciiz/io if. continuation of the recess tlic form would be more .pnlicablc to Solid-li ccuplci;

Having' tlins dcsciilicd my invcnticin wl i l claim new, and dcsirc to secure by ici, PiltciifL isl. A couple? comprising icccssc' head, a. swinging knuckle having tn :i cui-ved knuckle locking and @pianiY movable freely and Without- "Hd -wing of a pivolci'l knuckle ed position, sind zi liciit iod 'cd l;` 'd dci/'icc ii'liicli (l iiiws iinst zin ii'iiici ii't lmlilymid with lic sliiiic 1MM 43H., liuc lull knuckle csgci'l diliwllci'icc {rc-,illy nim'iililc. iiisziid locking cnil lisis zi lower licvinging; krimi-klv linking n tuilzi iciii'ii'aiillei' iliaspcsiiil .i'cilgcciii' tlic cnil lliciwfcl' iiiiil f-i'clcil crlgfc unil lill tail-wing by which it. cngac'eifl in intercept said iiliil-ii'ingfj' nient, and means to move Said device L lease 4clic knuckle;

E. A coupler comprising :l i

mici* cnil i'riiiiml willi Iliii Sidc, n cizivivl ifiii ing' device niliviililc wilgliciitfixed in :i noiificn cf said access :and

tail-wing' ich@ moved tlv' ay il am limi uiicdi Klang, lcziiliiw ii )iii lwill 'mii asili-idc it tu block iii: finti' 'ci nioa'ciiicii. iii i'ciiiii/:iiellfx im :i gmini iii ill@ p-iiiiicwl' shifting locking' device in k 'lc giiiii wl in minlnv; :ind lwii'iifA ing' :i licad mid :i curved mi! n /licy i`-wiii1 tcsii'iiig fliciciiiiii :iiiil kmicklclizivingaiziilwviii'f wliirli' iii, ciigijiiwcil ln' si. niilc luc :ig iiimiiin @ind :i

laiiliiiccc :ind foicis iisv c 'nii-cli, iywlisimscll l(mkiiiiycliniiilici' lciiilizig' will oi" Said cliziiiilici- 'to iiiinilivc device Liii,il its licml lilo-ck# ilic oiihviiiwl siii K 0l siiiil mil-wing, and incline; lo iiiiii'i: sind ilcvicc to iclciisc tlm kniicklc.

d' dci'icc wliicli iscii l iiini'cil iii :i

:ind zi ciiivcfl iniliiiccc, :1 swinging liiwiiig :i mil-wing .'vliicli Liig'figc :mill liiii iiiccc :ind loiccs ils cin-11mlsiilimgxiiiislli wfii nl' said cliiiiilici' to powilivcly riliil'l, l ili-i-icc i w i lln'iiilA 13. In a, coupler having n, recessed driiw- In testimony whereoflaix my signature in heed and aswingingknnckle, a, locking" device presence of two Witnesses.

provided with a guide portion and adapted to his. 1 i engage said knuckle and be moved bodily in ANDREW" Jmrg-JLARD' 5 an arcuate direction when said guide portion Witnesses;

is forced against a, wall of the coupler-head by H M HORTOYo the knuckle as it swings inwardly in coupling. R Dv JOHNSTON, 

